Hillbilly singer Clyde Owens made a splash back in the original rockabilly era with a rough-cut, super-twangy late-'50s single on Linco Records called "Swing It Little Katy," and he plugged away for several years before getting signed to the Chart label, where he recorded a string of singles during the late 'Sixties. Commercial success proved elusive, so Owens drifted back into indie territory, recording for Rimrock, Star, Paradox and other micro-labels through the 1970s and early '80s. He seems to have been from Meridianville, Alabama, though like many country artists, he seems to have moved around a lot and worked in a few different states.

Clyde Owens "Clyde Owens" (Gosco Records, 197-?) (LP)
(Produced by Slim Williamson)

Clyde Owens & The Hardtimes "Clyde Owens Sings -- About The Little B-Ham Club In Panama City, Fla" (Confederate Records, 1973-?) (LP)
(Produced by Bill Goodwin)
Hillbilly singer "Shy" Clyde Owens made a splash back in the original rockabilly era with a rough-cut, super-twangy late-'50s single on Linco Records called "Swing It Little Katy," and he plugged away for several years before getting signed to the Chart label, where he recorded a string of singles during the late 'Sixties. Commercial success proved elusive, so Owens drifted back into indie territory, recording for Rimrock, Star, Paradox and other micro-labels through the 1970s and early '80s. This album was recorded in conjunction with the Florida-based "Little B-Ham Club," which seems to have been an offshoot of The Club, a members-only restaurant-bar in Birmingham, Alabama. The LP liner notes lament that Little B-Ham was "experiencing growing pains" and under new management, so perhaps that particular venue didn't last too long (although the original Club is still around in Birmingham...) Anyway, this album is packed with original material, almost all of it written or co-written by Bill Goodwin, who was Owens' manager; Owens is co-credited on three tracks, including the opener, "Little B-Ham Club," which literally sings the praises of the venue, while his wife(?) June Owens wrote the album's only non-Goodwin number, "The World Is A Beautiful Place," a sappy attempt at sunshine country which is a bit of a clunker. Mostly, though, this is fun stuff: the band is all-in, and Clyde Owens has a good, no-nonsense vocal approach which is somewhat reminiscent of Dave Dudley -- more honkytonk than country crooner, though he is trying to accommodate the countrypolitan style of the times. There's no date on the disc, but most of the songs, including Ms. Owens's, are copyright 1973, so I'd guess '73-'74 on this one. The Hardtimes band included Jamie Fitzgerald (guitar), Jimmy Fisher (drums), Dick Stewart (bass) and Sherman Stephenson (whose instrument wasn't identified...)

Clyde Owens & His Moonlight Ramblers (Linco Records, 1959-?) (# 45-1313) (7")
A: "Swing It Little Katy" (c: Clyde Owens)
B: "The Last Bouquet" (c:)
(Producer not listed)

Clyde Owens & His Moonlight Ramblers (Linco Records, 1959-?) (# 45-1313) (7")
A: "Swing It Little Katy" (c: Clyde Owens)
B: "Swing It Little Katy (alternate take)" (c: Clyde Owens)
(Producer not listed)
A UK reissue or, "repro" edition of this collectable rockabilly single. The reissue label swapped out the original B-side with an alternate take of "Katy."

Clyde Owens & The Tunesters (Spartan Records, 1960) (#200) (7")
A: "Right And Ready" (c: W. C. Owens)
B: "Rock My Baby" (c: W. C. Owens)
(Producer not listed)

Clyde Owens & Herb Hunt (Columbus Records, 1964) (#1000) (7")
A: "Born To Be A Loser" (c: Clyde Owens)
B: "Nothing Less Than You" (c: Herb Hunt)
(Produced by Goldy & Johnny)
This came out on a North Carolina label, with backing by a group called the Heartaches. Herb Hunt was apparently just on the B-side.

Clyde Owens (Pride Records, 19--?) (#660P-0958) (7")
A: "I Cried" (c: Clyde Owens)
B: "If You Do Me Wrong" (c: Clyde Owens)
(Producer not identified)

Clyde Owens (Great Records, 1965-?) (#1040) (7")
A: "Pitching Wishing Pennies" (c: Lynn Cramer)
B: "No Tomorrows For Me" (c: Harry Woods)
(Produced by Slim Williamson)
This label was a precursor to the better-known Chart Records, which most famously launched Lynn Anderson's career and fielded a number of B-list country artists in the late '60s and early '70s. It's worth noting that some sources credit the song "Pitching Wishing Pennies" to fabled studio musician Floyd Cramer, though it was actually copyrighted by Lynn Cramer, who was not related to the Nashville pianist, as far as I can tell. Both of Owens's "Great" singles were reissued under the Chart banner (see below).

Clyde Owens (Great Records, 1967-?) (#1455) (7")
A: "Whatever Made You Think I Missed You So" (c: )
B: "I Won't Wait Up Tonight" (c: )
(Produced by ?)

Clyde Owens (Chart Records, 1967-?) (#1455) (7")
A: "Whatever Made You Think I Missed You So" (c: )
B: "I Won't Wait Up Tonight" (c: )
(Produced by ?)

Clyde Owens (Chart Records, 1967-?) (#59-1016) (7")
A: "Wide World Of Love" (c: Smith & Hughey)
B: "Long Live Love" (c: Gibson, Perkins & Robinson)
(Produced by Slim Williamson)

Clyde Owens (Chart Records, 196-?) (#59-1028) (7")
A: "The Pillow That Whispers" (c: Cal Veale)
B: "I'm Afraid" (c: Woods)
(Produced by Slim Williamson)

Clyde Owens (Chart Records, 19--?) (#59-1047) (7")
A: "So Much For Me, So Much For You" (c: Liz Anderson)
B: "(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers" (c: Liz Anderson)
(Produced by Slim Williamson)

Clyde Owens (Chart Records, 196-?) (#59-1069) (7")
A: "I Ran Off The Road Of Love" (c: Gene Hood)
B: "You Can't Do Any More To Me" (c: Joe Gibson)
(Produced by Joe Gibson & Slim Williamson)

Clyde Owens (Chart Records, 196-?) (#59-1081) (7")
A: "Pitching Wishing Pennies" (c: Lynn Cramer)
B: "No Tomorrows For Me" (c: Harry Woods)
(Produced by Slim Williamson)

Clyde Owens & Howard Owens (Tokalot Records, 1982-?) (#829-X2) (7")
A: "Lonesome Weekend" (c: )
B: "Hang Up The Telephone" (c: )
(Produced by Lloyd Green)

Clyde Owens (C.O.S. Records, 1984) (#59-1016) (7")
A: "She's Been Held" (c: Arless E. Clark)
B: "She's Been Held" (c: Arless E. Clark)
(Produced by Lloyd Green)

Clyde Owens (C.O.S. Records, 1984) (#59-1984-E) (7")
A: "Something She Can't Control" (c: Clyde Owens)
B: "Something She Can't Control" (c: Clyde Owens)
(Produced by Lloyd Green)

• Praguefrank's Country Music Discography: Clyde Owens

• 45cat.com: Clyde Owens

• Rocky-52.net: Clyde Owens

Hick Music Index